Statement by Joseph Zwilling on New York City's Mandate on Sex Education

statement by joseph zwilling on NEW YORK city's mandate on sex education

The following statement was issued today by Joseph Zwilling, Director of Communications.

"The decision of the City of New York to mandate sex education classes, including teaching grade school children about sex and condom use, is troubling.

Parents have the right and the responsibility to be the first and primary educators of their children. This mandate by the city usurps that role, and allows the public school system to substitute its beliefs and values for those of the parents.

Forty years of experience has shown time and again that the misguided effort to make sexual activity devoid of consequences has been a failure. Rates of teen sexual activity and pregnancies continue to soar, despite condoms being freely given away, including in our public schools.

Abstinence before marriage is the only sure way to avoid pregnancy and disease, and recent scholarship has shown that abstinence education leads to healthier, better adjusted teens and young adults. The City would be better advised to put its efforts into promoting what truly works rather than continuing to promote a failed experiment."